Highland Warriors - PC - Preview

If most game
developers are slop-slinging greaseballs at the local 24-hour diner, the people
of Data Becker are Martha Stewart. No, they can’t crochet a plaid scarf from a
ball of thread and they don’t wear pink dresses (at least I don’t think they
do). Rather, Data Becker’s employees have an incredible eye for microscopic
flaws. Data Becker’s real-time-strategy games rely on three things: detail,
detail, and detail. Their upcoming real time strategy release Highland Warriors
is another fine example of their ability to pick through their games with
fine-toothed combs.

Set in the
Braveheart-era of the Scottish Middle Ages, Highland Warriors captures the
spirit of the rugged lifestyle of the time period and the gruesome battles the
various Scottish clans and English engaged in. Data Becker utilizes the latest
technology and incredible detail to make Highland Warriors a thoroughly
enjoyable romp.

Players begin by
choosing their side. Players can fight for freedom and join the Cameron Clan or
crush the rebellion as a member of the civilized English. Perhaps the
economically powerful MacDonald clan or the magically-enriched MacKay clan suit
your fancy. Each clan has its strengths, and success largely relies on managing
these strengths to victory.

Highland Warriors
shines on the screen. All of the detailed graphics are viewable in a 360-degree
rotatable environment. Real-time shadows add realism to buildings, units, and
landscape. The units, made of up to 8,000 polygons, look just like extras from
Braveheart with painted faces, nicks in armor, and plaid kilts. Buildings, made
of up to 1,700 polygons, have various stages of damage and real-time shadows for
each stage. Flags wave, trees sway, and smoke rises… the entire game seems as
though it’s alive.

Much of the
gameplay is similar to that of other real time strategy games. Various
resources are required to construct buildings, create units, or purchase items.
In Highland Warriors, resources include stone, ore, wood, gold, and food. This
isn’t just hack and slash. Strategically stockpiling resources and amassing an
army could mean the difference between glorious freedom and heinous death. The
single-player campaign should take plenty of time to complete with 35 non-linear
missions to tackle and 80 cutscenes detailing the story. Multiplayer mode can
support up to eight players simultaneously over the Internet or LAN.

Units, made of
8,000 polygons each, include sword-wielding and mace-twirling infantry to
long-range bowmen and spell-casting druids. Each army has special units unique
to the game. The English can use spies to gain intelligence on their enemies
and the MacKay clan have druids to inflict plagues on units. What would a game
of Scottish freedom be without William Wallace? Mr. Wallace and other
historical figures, including King Edward I and Robert the Bruce, make
appearances and have their own special active and passive skills. King Edward,
for example, can bring fear on enemies causing them to flee with his passive
skill, and can gain vital knowledge from captured enemies through torture with
his active skill. The workers on each side can also specialize in certain
tasks. Leave a peasant on the fields to harvest for an extended period of time,
and he’ll become a master farmer, harvesting at accelerated speeds but losing
other skills such as woodcutting and mining.

Data Becker pushed
reality to the extreme with their implementation of realistic weather. The
first real time strategy game to apply changing weather within missions,
Highland Warriors challenges the player to plan ahead for the brutal winters.
Green fields slowly turn to snowy winter wonderlands, causing all kinds of havoc
on units. Units’ performance deteriorates in the snow, food is harder to come
by, and some terrain becomes impassable.

Again, it’s the
little details Data Becker pays attention to that makes their games special.
Highland Warriors’ user-friendly atmosphere won’t alienate anyone. Easy to use
tutorials will leave players screaming “Freedom!” in no time. The game’s
interface is entirely malleable as well. Don’t like the mini-map in the
corner? Move it wherever you like. Buttons cluttering your screen? Move them
or delete them entirely. Customize the screen as you see fit.